Black Soldier Fly frass applied to soil

Using black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) to process large volumes of organic waste is an emerging industry, and its by-product the larval faeces (frass) has potential to be used as an organic fertilizer in a circular economy. However, BSFL frass has a high ammonium content which could result in nitrogen (N) loss following its application to land via leaching, volatilization and runoff. One solution is to process the frass by combining it with solid fatty acids (FA), which is another by-product from BSFL farming. FAs have been used successfully as a coating agent to manufacture slow-release inorganic fertilizers. We investigated the slow-releasing effect of N after combining BSFL frass with three FAs - lauric, myristic and stearic acid.